A place to express

I was asked to participate in an Artsy Blog Hop, where we answer the following questions about our art and our process and then link to three other artists who will then do the same. Thanks to Lynnette Cretu for asking me to participate. You can visit her blog to see her responses to these same questions, along with some beautiful, fun and inspiring artwork. She even gives away free digital scripture art every once in awhile.

Here are the questions we are answering in the Blog Hop:

1. How does my creating process work?

I wish I KNEW! 🙂 No, seriously, I am blessed to have a fairly large art/craft studio space in our basement and when the mood strikes…which is usually based on something I have read or heard that sparks an idea, or someone ELSE’s Art I see on the internet and want to try MY hand at it, I go downstairs and start creating.

I have a difficult time following thru with cleaning up and putting away my things AFTER my project and so I pretty quickly work myself into a very small area on the large banquet-sized table. I am often working on a piece and have other ephemera, supplies, papers, journals stacked around and under me. It isn’t pretty!

On the really lucky days, I am at my cabin in Lyle, Washington and I have brought my traveling supplies and I work on a much SMALLER table and work myself out of space even FASTER!

I use canvas, wood, paper and Composition Journal Covers as my background, followed by a few colors of paint smeared on and then some pieces of paper ephemera, more paint, maybe more paper. This is usually followed by texture using household items such as bubble wrap, drawer liner, cardboard tubes, screen, and many things I don’t even know what their real name or use IS. I sometimes use a stencil or two and some stamps added lightly and randomly to add texture in the background. I usually end with adding a flower or a bug or a bird, some sign of life to add interest.

When I am HOME, I use a heat tool in between layers and often finish a project in one or two sittings. When I am at the CABIN and off the GRID with only solar power, I let things dry in between and so I will sit down for 5-15 minutes to work on my piece and then step away for a few hours, then come back.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My work is similar to many and yet different from most. As I am fairly new to the art of mixed media and mostly learning from OTHERS, I have not yet developed my own true style, where someone would look at it and say “THAT’S an EXPRESSATORY piece from Kim Puckett – I’d know it ANYWHERE!” but I think I have come a long way from two years ago when the only thing I had seen was various versions of Christy Tomlinson’s She Art Girls.

3. What am I working on?

I just spent two lovely weeks at our cabin and I made the following 4 pieces. The last piece is currently an unfinished background.

4. Why do I create what I do?

I have enjoyed creating things, making things all of my life and for the last few YEARS, I have had quite an obsession with collecting supplies for my art studio. It is only since discovering the art of mixed media that I have started to really feel at home with what I am making. I essentially HAVE to create. It is my therapy, my obsession, my love, my passion, my relaxation and my spiritual growth.

Now I have three wonderful artists for you to meet. I connected with these lovely ladies on an artists Facebook group!

we had it Friday and Saturday because those are the best days…and now I’m laying here on the couch having my cup of coffee on Sunday morning, trying to decide if I will open for a few hours TODAY.

What I like to do on SUNDAY is TWO FOR ONE…NOT 1/2 Price…2 for 1! You gotta take 2 things. You buy a $2.00 dress, you gotta take ANOTHER $2.00 item. It really confuses people but it’s FUN and it makes for LESS for me to PACK UP tonight! Come to think of it, maybe I should call it BOGO (Buy one get one free). I think people might be more familiar with that concept. I might try that today!

We also have two graduation parties we were invited to this afternoon, so I have to decide if I want to do the Sale AND the parties. So proud of our friends…

Skyler graduated from High School and College at the same time! (Well, there were TWO different ceremonies!) He graduated from Clackamas Middle College with his High School Diploma and from Clackamas Community College with an Associates Degree – He’s 20 I think, and an amazing young Artist, Musician, and Deep Thinker

Skyler and his proud Mama, Cheryl.

Ethan has graduated from Warner Pacific with a B.A. in Christian Ministry. Another amazing young man who will do whatever he sets out to do. He will be changing lives, I’m sure of it!

Then there is Ethan’s sister Elise. She graduated from high-school with a 4.18 GPA while dealing with 3 concussions and way too frequent migraine headaches. 4.18….I didn’t even know that was POSSIBLE! Absolutely spectacular young lady who has some serious determination and stamina. Can’t wait to see what she chooses to do NEXT!

Ethan and his sister Elise

I am so proud of these young adults and excited for how they will each continue to touch people’s lives – as they already have been doing – Great Kids, all three, and NOW, Great Adults embarking on a new part of their journey. Congratulations you guys.

*Update:

Opened the garage sale for 4 hours today. Super slow as I knew it would be and yet some very interesting conversations with great people…and met 2 of our neighbors that we may have only met once before in the last 10 years of living here.

Garage sales are a lot of work…but I love the great mix of folks that show up.

We went to both graduation parties and all in all it was a great weekend…

At my mom’s house in Milton Freewater, Oregon, the birds and the cows wake up at 4:30 a.m.

Well, if they are like ME, they might wake up at 4 a.m. and then have a cup of coffee – but they start CHIRPING and MOOING at 4:30!

Mama “Pearl” and a baby from Daddy “Rebar”.

And when I say “if they are like ME“, I do NOT mean that I wake up at 4:00 a.m. – I only mean that the first thing I do WHEN I wake up is have a cup of coffee.

The 4:30 a.m. time is significant this morning because today, June 1, 2014 marks the day for some big changes for me.

For my birthday this year, my husband bought me Kelly Rae Roberts‘ e-book Flying Lessons. I have been reading that and getting inspired and excited to delve deeper into my art and explore art as a business. There is a Facebook group for those who have purchased the book and from that page and the folks on there, I have gleaned even MORE great information and met some WONDERFUL artists.

Someone posted this TED Video and asked us if we wanted to begin a challenge on June 1, Art 101: Artists Supporting Artists, it’s called. Making art over the next 101 days and networking with the other artists in the group, each sharing the other’s work, creating or re-starting our Facebook Pages, Twitter accounts, Blogs, and Etsy shops. Here is the Facebook page for that wonderful group: Art 101: Artists Supporting Artists

So, here I am, June 1st, 2014 saying Welcome (Back) to Expressatory. I am on a fast-track to learning about badges, blog rolls, banners, buttons and widgets. My specific art commitment is to create a new piece of artwork each week for the 101 days. Here is a birthday card I made for my mom’s birthday yesterday.

This is a piece I have been working on here and there, mostly at the hospital while waiting for the ER, admission, surgery, etc. It was created on the iPad using the app ProCreate.

I often hear (and have even SAID) the phrase “God will never give us more than we can handle”.

but I don’t think God GIVES us the suffering. I believe it is a consequence of living on this earth but not that God GIVES different measures of suffering to different folks – and based on WHAT?!

But on the other hand – while I believe in miracles and believe that God could perform a miracle and heal Brian – I don’t EXPECT him to, in the sense that I feel he SHOULD. But SHOULD I expect him to? Is it not happening because I am not EXPECTING it? And if I expect it and it doesn’t happen…THEN what?

but if I don’t expect a miracle or even PRAY for one – what SHOULD I pray for?! Have I let the fact that I am not “expecting” a miracle keep me from regular conversation with Christ?

it feels strange to continually pray for miracles that don’t happen. But maybe they ARE happening. The first infection Brian got after the initial surgery to remove the cancerous tumor COULD have been a miracle, or at least a BLESSING because if it hadn’t happened we wouldn’t have known that his artery was exposed and he could have been in a very serious life or death situation at any time.

Seeing Brian almost continually in pain just seems so unfair and yet I know this life isn’t about fairness. Every couple of nights I mind myself holding him a little too tightly and praying, begging God to take away just a LITTLE of the pain he is feeling. Then Brian will say it feels better and I wonder…does it REALLY or is he saying that to ease my fears? Maybe these are little miracles, little answers to prayers…maybe not.

I look to God to give us the strength to get thru this and that is what that phrase means to ME.

Here’s how I might say it…at least today –

Whatever circumstances we are in – God is there to BE our strength (more than even GIVING us strength…he wants to BE our strength). The world will OFTEN give us more than we can handle…God is ALWAYS there to be our strength. We are not expected to be strong enough to handle ANYTHING ON OUR OWN.

Every once in awhile I see a connection or a recurring theme coming out of totally different places in my life. Recently I saw a connection between a documentary about prison gangs, a quote repeated on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday show and the teaching by Marc Schelske at Bridge City from 6/1/13 titled : No Longer Far Away

I watched a documentary recently about prison life and prison gangs. If you are interested, you can watch it here:

In the outdoor prison yards, everyone separated themselves into their respective gangs, generally by race. They don’t interact with members from other gangs unless it’s a fight or something. A couple of prisoners that were interviewed were asked how they got their scars or injuries…assuming it was from a rival gang member. Both prisoners said they got their scars and injuries from both THEIR gang AND rivals. The gangs are run by gang leaders who are in solitary confinement because they are so dangerous. So the gang members are following “rules” set forth by people they may have never met and never see. The guards basically said the gangs have the power in the prison…OVER the guards. They are just TOO powerful.

Then there’s this other yard they called the “dropout” yard. These are Prison Gang Dropouts. Some are there by choice, some because they were kicked out of their gang for various reasons. Many of them are constantly in danger of being killed by members of their previous gang.

But here’s the thing that caught my eye. In the “Dropout Yard”, there was no segregation. Black hanging with hispanics hanging with whites, all brothers, all looking out for each other. How is THIS the “Dropout” yard?!

The second connection was Marc’s teaching this week based on Ephesians 2:11-22. It was a VERY powerful message. You can see it here: But here’s my Cliff Notes:

What Jesus did on the cross redeemed ALL of humanity. ALL OF HUMANITY! Not just the good people, not just Christians, not just Americans, not just those outside of the prison walls, not just US but also THEM!

Marc said “If I hold on to old hostilities, I have not been transformed by the gospel.” The gospel teaches Grace. If I believe in and understand Grace, I understand that it applies to ALL. I look at the grace God has given me…ME and learn how to release my old hostilities and instead, extend grace, as God has done for me.

Here’s the third connection I had. On Oprah’s show Super Soul Sunday last week, the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Monk Thích Nhất Hạnh paraphrased a quote by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The paraphrase was this: “If we really listened to our enemy’s suffering, we would no longer be enemies.” The original quote is this: “If we could read the secret history of our enemies we would find in each man’s sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”

Marc gave an analogy of his teaching by picturing a wagon wheel with the spokes. God is at the center. The closer we get to God, the closer we get to each other. This is what created the church so long ago. This is what can change the world today.

I just recently started exploring and learning about digital mixed media artwork. My husband got me two styluses for my birthday that I spent some time researching to make sure they were the best at doing what I wanted to do. My mom gave me some money for my birthday and I used it to buy several iPad art apps. I will share these and the stylus info in another post.

While my more comfortable go-to would be to put actual paint on paper, I attempted a digital piece in response to the teaching at my church this Saturday (Bridge City Community Church in Milwaukie, Oregon). We have been having a series on Ephesians. This Saturday my friend Marc Alan Schelske shared part 7 and it was based on Ephesians 2:1-10. I suppose the key verse here, or the most well-known is verse 10: For by GRACE are we saved thru FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of GOD.

I am sure I can’t even remember how many times I have heard a teaching on Grace…well, probably lots of SERMONS and Preaching on Grace, that may or may not have hit the mark. But, speaking of Mark…Marc seems to always have a way of bringing things down to earth for me and making them current and relevant. I can’t seem to find clear words to describe what I heard in this teaching, what spoke to my heart. That’s why I decided to use a different part of my brain to share this topic with you. I encourage you to check out the teaching, here.

I am wishing that you all could see

into my mind…

because even though I haven’t POSTED in quite some time, I have thought about, learned and created SO MUCH in my small brain. When will they invent the technology to download my thoughts directly from brain to computer? (Probably sooner than I might THINK!)

The Dreambuilding Dinner was AMAZING! Let’s just PRETEND that it was last week (Instead of last MONTH). Everyone there gave such great suggestions and ideas. (separate post to follow)

My friend Marc recommended a book called Platform – Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt. I ordered the book and downloaded the audio version immediately. I listened to it over the last week and I LOVE it. Such a wealth of quality information all in one book.

BUT…

I have so much to DO now! But I am super excited to get started. “One thing at a time” as Marc said to me today. It’s too much to put it all into practice at the same time so I will pick one thing at a time and go from there.

I read a blogging tip

that said to include an image on every post. This has lead to more Next Steps:

Learn how to blog 🙂 Below is a picture of me trying to figure out how to use my computer’s webcam to take a picture. I have about 8 pictures that look like this because in the course of trying to “figure it out”, I took EIGHT pictures! Actually the 8 pictures don’t look exactly the same…in each one I appear more and more frustrated and perplexed! This just might give you an idea of how far I have to go to learn new things on the computer.

Learn how to protect my photos (not THIS one, obviously!) by using CSS or some other method that can be explained in layman’s terms so that I can actually figure it out. I know no method is foolproof but I would like to make it a little more difficult so that artists like my husband, Brian, who is an outstanding photographer and woodworker, will feel comfortable allowing me to display their art on this website. I like the method I’m seeing where if someone saves the image all they get is a blank photo. But I don’t know anything about CSS or HTML so I have a lot to learn.